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The World Outdoors: Christmas Count looms for London

During last year’s Christmas Bird Count there was a record number of bald eagles seen in the London count circle. This species’ rebound since the DDT debacle in the mid-20th century underlines the value of bird science and legislative action. (PAUL NICHOLSON, Special to Postmedia News)

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’Tis the season for the world’s longest running and most popular citizen science initiative.

Christmas Bird Counts — also known as CBCs — started in 1900 in Toronto and in 24 other North American cities. They have been happening in London every year for more than a century.

Nature London’s Cathy McCrae and Bernie VanDenBelt led London’s fourth annual Christmas Bird Count for Kids last weekend. The weather co-operated and the event was well attended. As well as completing the bird census, McCrae said that many of the participants had black-capped chickadees eating from their hands.

The classic counts will now be happening between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5. The London CBC always occurs on the first Saturday of the count window. This year it’s set for Dec. 16.

I was chatting recently with Pete Read, who has been the compiler for the London CBC since 1983.

“We have one of the highest participation numbers,” he said of the London count.

But one of the themes he touched on was succession planning and leadership on routes within the London count circle. “Many of us are thinking of passing our routes along to a new generation. If that’s the case, it really does make sense from a continuity point of view for that route leader to consider mentoring someone else to eventually take over.”

Read wants to see children and grandchildren as well as co-workers and friends participate and, where able, take on lead roles. He also continues to assist route leaders in ensuring there are enough birders on each route. “We always want the best possible coverage.” And of course, safety on each route is always important.

There is an opportunity for people to participate even if they don’t bird on a route. Each year, some birders opt to observe and report on the bird activity at their feeders. These numbers are as important from a bird science perspective.

Weather is a wild card. Last year it wasn’t frigid but a snow storm and ice-covered ponds affected some routes. There were still some interesting sightings however.

Among the 72 species seen in the London count circle last year were yellow-bellied sapsucker, red-headed woodpecker, and cackling goose. There were new high counts for fox sparrow, bald eagle, pileated woodpecker and red-bellied woodpecker.

Birders will be out in the Kettle Point count circle on Dec. 16. This circle includes Pinery Provincial Park. After having been closed for more than two weeks, the park reopened for day use in late November. The Blenheim area count is scheduled for Dec. 17.

Several counts occur after Christmas. The St. Thomas CBC is set for Boxing Day. Steve Charbonneau co-ordinates the Wallaceburg CBC on Dec. 27. The Stratford count happens on Dec. 30.

As ever, Bird Studies Canada plays a co-ordinating role across the country. Across the country there were 447 counts conducted last year. Each of the count circles is 24 kilometres in diameter. The consolidated results are relied on heavily by conservation biologists and naturalists to assess bird population trends and develop conservation action plans. For details, search on “Canadian Christmas Bird Count.”

Nature notes

• The dark-eyed junco’s scientific binomial name is Junco hyemalis. Junco is thought to come from juncus, the Latin and Spanish word for rushes. Hyemalis is a Latin reference to winter.

• Galápagos finches are frequently cited as examples of evolutionary change since they were included by Charles Darwin in his book, On the Origin of Species. Other interesting examples of avian evolution continue to surface however. In a study published last month on nature.com, scientists from the University of Florida attributed unexpected growth in the snail kite population to a change in their beaks that rapidly evolved. Larger beaks are allowing these birds to take advantage of a large invasive snail.

Dr. Robert J. Fletcher Jr., one of the study’s authors, told the New York Times “We often assume these large-bodied animals can’t keep up with changes to the system, like invasions or climate change, because their generation times are too long. And yet we are seeing this incredibly rapid change in beak size of this bird.”